I imagine plate armor is uncomfortable as fuck... Capes are dope though, but I can imagine them getting caught in various things causing fatal accidents (escalators, revolving doors, moving trains, etc.)
Its not difficult to engineer a bit of safety into a cape. The clasps holding the cape around your neck/on your body can be designed to have a low breakaway strength to prevent strangulation(150N is a typical force). This is a feature designed into most safety helmets. Its secure enough to never fall off unintentionally, but weak enough that it removes the risk of strangulation.
This is literally what capes were like. The world was even more dangerous back then and the human brain hasn't received any upgrades since capes went out of fashion :)